COWBOYS SQUAD SHOW: Lots of Cowboys questions, with 3 weeks to go until the NFL Draft.

Summary

Locked On Cowboys – Squad Show: Lots of Cowboys Questions, 3 Weeks to the NFL Draft (April 3, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this pre-draft edition of the Cowboy Squad Show, hosts Landon McCool (Locked On Cowboys), Glenn "Stretch" Smith (former Cowboys coach), Aisha Morrison, and Jeff Biggs field a range of burning Dallas Cowboys questions with the 2026 NFL Draft looming just three weeks away. The group breaks down draft strategy, discusses Jerry Jones’ latest comments on key players, analyzes the ongoing George Pickens contract situation, and speculates on potential trades and draft movements. Set amid a refreshingly candid and collegial tone, the panel dives deep into team needs, market realities, and the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that shapes the Cowboys’ off-season.

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Draft Strategy & the Unique 2026 Draft Class

[01:42–07:21]

• Draft Fluidity & Trade Scenarios
  • Landon McCool notes: “There’s just a lot of fluidity. I don’t think there’s a ton of elite players in this class… a lot more scenarios this year that seem feasible than any year previous to now.” [03:16]
  • The Cowboys’ two first-round picks offer flexibility for creative trade ups or downs.
  • Teams like Cleveland or Tennessee are attractive trade partners wanting to stockpile picks, especially with an eye toward the highly-anticipated 2027 “super draft” (quarterbacks, WRs, pass rushers). [10:48]
• Mock Draft Musings & Trade Packages
  • Landon’s current mocks focus on targets like Monsour Delaine, Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles, Arvl Reese, with cascading effects based on the first pick.
  • Varied trade scenarios include dealing picks 12 & 20 to move up (e.g., 6 and 39 with Cleveland, hypothetical deals for Maxx Crosby or Myles Garrett). [04:55–06:24]
• Elite Players at Non-Premium Positions
  • The “elite” prospects in 2026—off-ball linebackers, safeties, running backs—aren't valued like QB, WR, OT, CB, thus reducing the cost to move up. [07:34]
  • “There's not a premium to trade down ... not going to be a ton of availability to trade down... the economics are probably better for someone looking to trade up than normal.” –Landon McCool [10:04]
• Teams with Multiple 1st Round Picks
  • Multiple teams have maneuvering power; many may be eyeing 2027 picks instead of more in 2026. [10:32–11:54]

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Trade Up, Trade Down, or Stay Put?

[12:24–19:45]

• Panel Weighs Draft Philosopy
  • “Best option is to stay where you are and pick an elite player who falls to you... if Downs or Styles falls to you at 12, then you’re loving life.” –Landon McCool [12:50]
  • Aisha flags the offensive/defensive class balance: “We are getting a little too infatuated with how defensive-heavy this class is … Scoring points is still very important. Having a good offensive line is very important.” [13:48]
  • O-linemen and WRs, while arguably overvalued, will still get pushed up the board—teams convince themselves on positional need. [14:59]
• Draft Depth in Rounds 2-4
  • The sweet spot for value is in the 35–100 overall range; assembling more picks in those rounds is desirable. [16:05, 18:31]
  • Elevator trades (moving up for an elite pick, then down to get 2nd-round capital) are appealing due to this year’s talent distribution. [19:09]
• Trade Costs & Realism
  • Trade charts suggest 12 and 20 could net the Cowboys a top-6 pick plus more, though others (Jeff) believe the cost may be higher; Landon notes “it's probably not much more than that ... a fourth round pick or next year’s second or third round pick would do it.” [20:09]

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Jerry Jones, Agents, and the George Pickens Contract Saga

[24:26–30:28, 35:23–55:48]

• Jerry’s Long Game and Agent Tension
  • Jerry proclaims Pickens central to long-term plans, jabs at agent David Mulaguetta, saying, “George Pickens would make a lot more money if he didn’t have an agent.” [24:26]
  • Panel agrees this isn’t another Parsons situation. Leverage sits heavily with the Cowboys (two tags available). [24:26, 25:56]
  • “Unless Pickens is willing to come down on the numbers, Jerry’s very comfortable with Pickens playing on the franchise tag.” –Landon McCool [25:56]
• Contract Dynamics & Tag Implications
  • Pickens’ representation style (“the new era of agent”) is respected but unpopular with owners (Aisha, Landon). [31:56–33:46]
  • “I don’t think it’s as dire a situation as people are anticipating it to be … unless he starts acting out.” –Landon McCool [27:21]
  • The franchise tag’s main drawbacks for players: lack of long-term security, all guaranteed in one year, injury risk. [44:07–45:14]
  • Long-term deal would provide Dallas with more cap flexibility than a one-year, $28.8M tag, allowing them to “roll” money forward or spread the impact. [39:49–43:38]
• Loyalty, Trust, and Parsons Fallout
  • Jeff Biggs: “I think he looks more at the agent being the problem than Micah being the problem... he values trust, honesty, family.” [30:08–31:52]
  • Aisha: “There’s a lot of pride involved… this middleman just so happens to get people paid.” [31:52–33:46]
  • “Maybe they’re more okay than they’re letting on that they play on these franchise tags… if he gets this money guaranteed and goes out and performs, he is going to get paid.” –Landon McCool [35:41–36:10]
• Where Do Things Go from Here?
  • Consensus: Unless Pickens and agent come down in price expectations, he’ll likely play on the tag this year. Both player and team are in a “prove it” year. [51:55–57:48]
  • Aisha: “He is in a really good position…you’ve been needing a number two option that could get it done for a while. You have that.” [54:14]

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Trade & Contract Mechanics — Franchise Tag Deep Dive

[39:12–45:14]

• How the Tag Works
  • Non-exclusive tag: Pickens can negotiate with other clubs; if signed away, Cowboys would get two first-round picks (unlikely anyone will step up). [39:12–39:49]
  • Tag puts entire $28.8M on 2026 cap, whereas long-term deal could spread cap hits over several years.
  • “By kicking [cap hit] into the future… the dead money’s percentage of the cap gets smaller because the cap keeps increasing.” –Landon [43:06]
  • “Why do players hate playing on the tag? Because it’s less guaranteed money than a long-term deal.” –Landon [44:07]
  • Risk: If Pickens underperforms or gets injured, future market value could nosedive. [44:48]

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Miscellaneous Cowboys Updates

[58:22–62:26]

• Roster Notes
  • Jerry Jones stated if Maxx Crosby had failed physical, trade would have been voided—standard procedure, but still confirming Dallas’ process. [58:22–60:53]
  • Difficult not to re-signing Jadeveon Clowney: “you just can’t do everything you want to do.” [58:22]
  • Brian Schottenheimer (OC) and Osa Odighizuwa reportedly “wept together” after learning of Osa’s trade—a reminder of the personal side of roster moves. [58:22]
• Schedule News
  • Cowboys slated to play the Ravens in Brazil, Week 3. Panel notes the logistical challenges and wonders if it will include a mini-bye. [59:08–59:59]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “There’s just a lot of fluidity… a lot more scenarios this year that seem feasible than any year previous to now.” –Landon McCool, on this draft class [03:16]
• “We are getting a little too infatuated with how defensive-heavy this class is … scoring points is still very important.” –Aisha Morrison [13:48]
• “I think Jerry looks more at the agent being the problem than Micah being the problem...he values trust, honesty and family.” –Jeff Biggs [31:52]
• "This middleman just so happens to get people paid." –Aisha Morrison, on Mulaguetta [32:00]
• “If Downs or Styles falls to you at 12, then you’re loving life.” –Landon McCool [12:50]
• “He is in a really good position...he is in a position to go do what he wants to do...to flip the table and show what he's capable of.” –Aisha Morrison, on Pickens [54:14]
• [On playing on the tag] “It’s less guaranteed money than like a long-term deal...not as much stability long term.” –Landon McCool [44:16]

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Closing Thoughts & Tone

• The hosts balance deep football analysis with humor, teasing Marcus for his Dallas food takes and sharing personal details (“I bet on these damn blueberry smoothies, and it’s not very appealing.” –Jeff Biggs [57:48]).
• Aisha repeatedly stresses the human perspective—players, coaches, and even agents have personal stakes and pride in every negotiation.
• All agree: The 2026 draft is uniquely unpredictable, the Cowboys are well-positioned but face evolving market realities, and the proof for Pickens and the team will come on the field this season.

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Key Segments by Timestamp

• 01:42 – 07:21: Draft fluidity, Cowboys’ draft scenarios, trade options
• 12:24 – 19:45: Trade up, down or stay put; class balance; value in 2nd-4th rounds
• 24:26 – 30:28: Jerry Jones/George Pickens contract comments; agent dynamics
• 35:23 – 45:36: Franchise tag mechanics, player/team incentives, salary cap impact
• 58:22 – 62:26: Roster/Schedule nuggets; Maxx Crosby trade, Osa trade emotions, international game logistics
• Select Quotes: [03:16], [12:50], [13:48], [31:52], [44:16], [54:14]

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For the Cowboys fan, this is a must-listen episode fully capturing the strategic dilemma, complex contract dynamics, and behind-the-scenes drama central to Dallas’ offseason.

Transcript

[Aisha Morrison]

Foreign.

[Jeff Biggs]

Every day.

[Joey Erickson]

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[Landon McCool]

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[Glenn Stretch Smith]

I am Jeff Biggs and is it wrong that I still want the Cowboys to make a trade for Miles Garrett?

[Landon McCool]

I'm Landon McCool and it may not look like it, but I am currently in a draft war room.

[Jeff Biggs]

Ooh, Glenn Stretch Smith. Man, I hope these officials don't strike.

[Aisha Morrison]

How about them Cowboys? It's the Cowboy squad. Everything Dallas Cowboys every week covering all the big hits and games, changing plays from America's team the way only the Locked on podcast network can get ready and squad up. It's the Cowboy Squad show starting now.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

And you are so right, coach. You do not want to kill the golden goose. Be careful. Be careful. All right, here we go. April has arrived and so has another edition of the Cowboy squad show. We are now three weeks away from the 2026 NFL Draft. Can't wait, man. It is going to be here before we know it and I cannot wait. I know you can't either. Thank you for being with us. We really appreciate it. As always, we start with a welcome to the co host of the daily Lockdown Cowboys podcast, Landon McCool. Back with us. Back from an epic road trip that you could see for yourself on social media if you get a chance. Thank you, Landon. Marcus will be back next week and we have former Cowboys coach, the one and only Glenn Stretch Smith. Getting a lot of good sun here and we're not even at the beginning of April. We still got the whole summer left. Is ready to go. All right, coming up on our show tonight, we've got the very latest on the Cowboys, including some interesting comments from you know who, Jerry Jones. But Landon, I want to start with you. I want to say congratulations. You and Marcus just completed your 700th block draft.

[Landon McCool]

Something, something around there. Yeah.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

No, I'm kidding. But all seriousness, three weeks to go. As we sit here tonight. What, what are your biggest maybe questions right now with three weeks to go?

[Landon McCool]

Well, first of all, I, I, I, I wasn't entirely sure that you weren't joke joking there because I, that does that number sounds pretty accurate. You know, I, I, I think the more we talk about it, the more we're able to come up with a ton of different scenarios. I think that's what, what, you know, what, what really kind of strikes me is that there's just a lot of fluidity. I don't think there's a ton of elite players in this class and I think what's, what that means is that a lot of teams are really interested in moving around. Whether that's to get in range of those elite players or because they're not in the, the elite area. Teams that you know, maybe are just outside of that range seemingly are looking to move back. So for the Cowboys having two first round picks, it really feels like there are going to be a lot of different ways to attack this situation. Whether that's through trading through for players, trading for, you know, where you are positionally in, in the draft. I think that there's going to be a lot of opportunity for the Cowboys to do a lot of different things. And, and I'm kind of interested at this point of seeing how it plays out because it feels like we've looked at a lot more scenarios this year that seem feasible than, than in any year previous to now.

[Jeff Biggs]

Well, in your 700th mock draft, who you got them taken right now?

[Landon McCool]

I mean, you know, it's, it's the same name seem, you know, come up right? It's, it's, you're hoping for a Monsour Delaine, you're, you're hoping for a Caleb Downs. You're making a move for Sonny Styles, you're making a move for Arvl Reese. You're, you know, and then however those, the first pick goes, obviously kind of has a tumbling effect into the second pick and then it's, I'm trading 12 and 20 to go to 6 and 39 with Cleveland or I'm trading 12 and third round pick for the, the third overall pick in Josh Sweat. I mean and, and maybe, or maybe I'm trading 20 for this player or I'm trading 12 and 20 for, you know, we've talked about Max Crosby or you know, a 12 and 20 and 2027 first rounder for miles Garrett. I just think that there's. And it. And all of them have some level of feasibility there. I mean, maybe not super, you know, maybe not a. This is an 85 thing gonna happen, but, but like a lot more viability like than in previous seasons that it felt like we've had it. And I think it has a lot to do with having two first round picks. That gives you a lot of firepower to kind of move around. But I also think it has to do with just the makeup of this particular draft and the kind of fluidity that's happening in the first round.

[Jeff Biggs]

I wish, you know, I wish you could get up to six and I wish Cleveland would give you 39. I think that's, I don't see that remotely happening.

[Landon McCool]

But I got a phone call in right now. Coach with in fact literally at breaking. Well, I mean, yeah, breaking news. I, I just got it to Cleveland to agree to my deal and so, yeah, so yes, I am excited. I do think that that's a viable thing if you could, you know, use your two picks, you know, trade down with one and then take the value from the trade down to put into the, the value for the trade up. I think it's a viable option, especially in situations like Cleveland or Tennessee where they're in a different situation than you are. Right. They're looking to acquire picks and, or, you know, picks for next year or, or multiple picks. Right. So are you.

[Jeff Biggs]

I guess what I'm saying is, are you thinking because you, you don't have that level of elite player that that's all it would cost you to get into the top six?

[Landon McCool]

I think it's because the, the elite players in this class are at positions that are not valued at the normal level of top 10 players in the draft. Right. They're talking about off ball linebackers, we're talking about safeties, we're talking about, I mean, running back. Really, you know, that's, those are the blue chip players that are available in this class and none of them are valued the same way as, you know, the money. Five positions as we call wide receiver, cornerback, offensive tackle, quarterback, like those are the, those are the ones that, that kind of give you the, the, the value that you usually want to have to pay in savings by drafting them in the, in the top 10 and, and controlling those contracts.

[Jeff Biggs]

And I guess I say that because I've always thought that moving into that top six or seven is going to cost you a lot more than that.

[Landon McCool]

I, I think that this year there could be a little bit More of a, you know, opportunity to trade up. So, you know, I mean, I don't want to like spoil this, this, this, this trade. But I think it may cost a little bit more than just 12 and 20 to do that particular deal. But, but you know, again, like, maybe you can do a later pick or, you know, there's, or future pick. You know, I think there's ways to manipulate it to get the points you need. And I think for a team like, you know, like I said, for teams like Cleveland, they, it's not even just that you're getting more picks. I mean, because in some ways for the Cowboys, I'm trying to do a trade where I'm not like losing the number of picks that I've got. I want to do a trade where I can use positional value to get where I need to go and looking for a team that is looking to maybe move down to a spot where they can draft the kind of players like let's say Cleveland wants an offensive lineman. But you know, maybe you don't like the offensive lineman that you would have at 6 or you think it's an overpay necessarily, especially with the guys that you're looking at. There's no perfect tackles necessarily in this class. They're kind of maybe tackle guards. Right. So maybe you don't feel necessarily comfortable taking that guy at 6, but at 12 you feel a lot better about taking him. So, and for the Cowboys, they're looking for an elite player and maybe that they're not going to have that opportunity at 12.

[Jeff Biggs]

So if they, I'm 100% on board and I love that. My gut feeling is it's, it's going to take a lot more than that.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I, I understand that. I, I do think that this year because of the lack of elite talent, there's going to be not a premium to trade down. But the, the, there's gonna, there's not going to be a ton of availability to trade down. So I do think that the, the, the, the economics are probably better for this year for someone looking to trade up than normal because of supply and demand. But I, I, I, I still think it's, you know, know, it's still expensive to trade up.

[Jeff Biggs]

Well, let me ask you this. Does it bother you that three other teams have multiple first round picks? Because you, I mean you could be, you could have ample bidders in that situation.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I mean, potentially, I guess it depends on, on, on what they're hunting as well, obviously. And I think some of those teams are, you know, potent are also teams that you feel like maybe stockpiling picks in order to get 2027 picks as well. Like, I think most of these teams that have real needs are they're looking to get picks in 2027 because they. They're. Everyone's viewing 2027 as the super draft because it's not only obviously quarterbacks, but it's wide receiver. There's a couple wide receivers are going to come out. They're going to be great. There's some pass rushers potentially. So I. I can understand why teams are potentially looking at you. Even some of those teams with two first round picks this year may be looking to use that to trade into 2027 a little bit.

[Jeff Biggs]

Well, I mean, isn't that why Cleveland was looking at saying, hey, we. We ought to be able to trade picks five year, five years into the. You know, whatever. I mean, that lost. That lost its steam, obviously. But, I mean, you have to think that's why they were looking at that, you know, at that side of that equation.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Yeah.

[Landon McCool]

I mean. Go ahead, go ahead, Jeff.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

I would like to pick Aisha Morrison to join the show with two eyes.

[Aisha Morrison]

Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. When. When they get a hold of the medicals, they're not gonna want me no more?

[Landon McCool]

Oh, no, no, no, no. I've already. We've already had too many deals canceled at this point.

[Aisha Morrison]

Right, right, right, right, right. If they. If they won't take McCoy, then they definitely don't want me, so. Cool.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Well, Max Crosby said you're good, so whatever that's worth.

[Aisha Morrison]

Gentlemen, how are you?

[Jeff Biggs]

Good.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Good to have you on. We're just kind of kicking around about maybe questions right now with three weeks to go until the draft. And I was going to ask you guys, all of you, you know, it seemed like the last few weeks the rumor has been that the Cowboys might want to try to trade down, but now it seems like the last week or so, we keep hearing, they're going to want to move up. And which way are you guys leaning?

[Landon McCool]

I think it depends on how the draft falls, too. Right? Like, I mean, if guys start falling to you or if you start getting like, you know, I did a draft, the mock draft the other day where, like, Fano, Ma and I think Tate all went in the top six picks, and I was like, I'm not doing a thing. I'm sitting where I'm at and I'm waiting for all the great picks to roll down to me because I. I think, you know, we've. We've walked through all the scenarios and I'd like to hear what you think about, about this Egypt is that, you know, I think we've been through all the scenarios here and I love some of the options and trading up. I love some of the options and trading down. But without a doubt, and we talked about this on, on today's show, without a doubt, the best option here is to stay where you are and pick an elite player who falls to you. If that's what happens. Right. Like if downs or styles falls to you at 12, then you're loving life.

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah. My thing about it is, I think as we've gotten into this draft in particular, we know, I think we've gotten a little spoiled with the tackles and obviously the quarterbacks through the years. Through these last couple years, the tackles have really taken in, in the top 10 picks in the draft this last three, four years. We've seen those guys really push, push some of these better players down the board. You don't have that this year also too, you know, with receiver, like, it's just not there offensively. I want to say that maybe as we've been in this draft process, we are getting a little too infatuated with how defensive heavy this class is and what it is and not really thinking about like, this is still an offensive league. This is still like, we are like, obviously Seattle has people being like, baby, I need to up my defense, clearly. But scoring points is still very important. Having good offensive line is very important. So I do think, you know, the way the board is going to fall. I, I do think that some of people are expecting a lot of these defensive players to go early because that's where people see the value. But I'm like, nah, if I'm a team that needs somebody offensive, I'm probably going to try to get them early.

[Landon McCool]

We've already seen them getting pushed up. We've already seen like, we've already seen these offensive players. I don't view Francis Mauioga as a top 10 or top five player. Like, I, that's not my personal view because I think. I'm not certain that he's a tackle. Right. I, I kind of think I need to see him play and I'm certainly not taking a guard. Yeah, well, great. And if he's, if he's a guard, that's great too. I, that's what I think too. And if he's a guard, I wouldn't take him in the top 10, but would I? Am I going to be surprised when he goes in the top 10? Absolutely not. Because these teams have already started pushing themselves, convincing themselves that it's okay, oh, he's a tackle. We'll try him at tackle, we'll take him at 7 or, you know, whatever, and we'll try him at tackle. And it's like they'll do the same thing with these wide receivers too. None of these wide receivers are top end wide receiver ones really in the league. Tate's obviously, to me the closest guy, but all of them have got warts. And, but I guarantee you these guys will be taken because some team will convince themselves that he's worthy of a top 10 pick because they need a wide receiver.

[Aisha Morrison]

It's going to happen.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, it's going to happen multiple times.

[Jeff Biggs]

Well, I mean, I, I, I just think the Cowboys are sitting at 12 and, and there's, they have really four choices and, and that's, I mean it's the same guys we've been talking about. And if one of those guys is there, I, I, I, I think the Cowboys pull the trigger. And if not, I think they look to get out of there because I do think that they're still a lot of players in that 35 to kind of 100 range that are really good football players. And how many picks can you assemble in that range to get the bang for the buck?

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Let me ask you this, do you, if you're Cleveland or Arizona, do you think they are going to be aggressively trying to trade down? Do you think they're gonna try to like getting picks for, not only this year but for 20, 27?

[Aisha Morrison]

They both have been, they're both in need of offensive line, correct? Landon?

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, that's what I was just gonna say. I think both of those guys are probably wanting to convince themselves that, that they should be picking offensive line, but they're looking at the board, they're looking at where they're picking and they're going, I don't want to take any of these guys at three or whatever. Who's the other one? Tennessee four. I don't want to take them at three, three or four. So I do think that they would be looking for trade down options. And, and honestly, like in those situations, those guys will be looking at, you know, maybe paying or not taking as much as they normally would because they look at it as just, you know, it's all, it's all gravy, right? Like you're getting the same guy that you want just at a discount price by doing this trade and you're picking up whatever value you're picking up in the trade, I, I think it's gonna, it could be easy for teams to convince themselves that that's a better deal than, than, you know, not doing that and sticking and taking, you know, either reaching on the guy they want or picking a player that they, at a position that they don't necessarily need. I, I, I mean, you know, I think it gives these teams options. So if, if you're telling me that I have, have the option of actually doing all the, the value, maybe not quite the value you would get next year or the value you got last year in a trade down, but still getting, you know, some value while also paying less for the player that I wanted, I think that that's an appealing option for a lot of these teams.

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah, I think BPA is going to look different to a lot of teams and I, I do believe we're going to walk away from this, this year's draft with a lot of questionable decisions being made because I do think that this is one of the more difficult drafts because of how it's, it's constructed to grade and for people to see value in certain spots. Like, I think coach makes a really good point, is that that second round and third round is going to be probably starting in the fourth is going to be very rich. It's probably the most rich part of this draft. And Dallas finding a way to get there would be very helpful to them. I agree.

[Landon McCool]

And that's, that's why I like the kind of elevator trades where you go up and down. Because the other spot that's really rich is that second round. We don't have a pick there. Right. Especially the top of the second round, it feels like that's, man, a real sweet spot. And so if you could find a way to like, you know, get up and then only getting down into like the top of the second round, even though you're losing the fifth year option there, I still think it's probably worth it because you're getting like you're gonna end up with that, that second pick right in the sweet spot of value for, especially, especially for like, what you're looking for.

[Jeff Biggs]

I mean, I hope you're right, but I, I just think it's gonna, I, I think there you're gonna have to really pay to get up in there.

[Landon McCool]

And I don't know, you all, you always have to really pay to get up there, don't you think? Isn't that, I mean, isn't that the truth?

[Jeff Biggs]

I will say, Landon, you're saying you're saying back to 39. If you, if you give up 12 and 20, you're going to get. What did you say in 39?

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Six.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, there's, there's more to it there, there. But again, don't want to give, give away what, what, what, what we, what we're doing in this, in this mock draft. But I, I, I don't think it's much more than that. I think that that's what the tr. I mean that's basically what the trade chart says. The difference between the, the do doing it like, like in the, like like 200 points or 150 points points which is easily made up with like a fourth round pick or a next year second or third round pick would do it basically.

[Jeff Biggs]

I hope you're right. Because you know what, if you are right, then that puts you in position to get, you know that impact player and that's desperately what they need right now. So I mean I'm, I'm jumping both hands and both feet in if that, if you can get that deal.

[Landon McCool]

See, maybe I did.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Aisha, what were you going to say?

[Aisha Morrison]

Oh no, no, nothing. Nothing.

[Landon McCool]

Okay.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

All right. When we come back, Jerry Jones had a lot to say this week from Phoenix. We will get into that. Also there are some other Cowboys trade rumors and another I think just a nice revealing shoddy side or a side of shoddy if you will. We'll get into that coming up. Great to be with you on this Thursday night, three weeks to go until the draft. This is the Cowboys squad show.

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[Landon McCool]

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[Landon McCool]

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[Jeff Biggs]

Liberty. Liberty.

[Landon McCool]

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[Glenn Stretch Smith]

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[Landon McCool]

I just, I think, you know, everyone's kind of still trying to reference the, the Parsons thing and I, I get it. I just think this is a very, very different situation than, than the Parsons situation. And the Cowboys have a ton more leverage, you know, that they've, they can, they can tag Pickens the next two years. And so I think for anything, you know, Jerry can be patient here and, and that's why he's, he's okay kind of joking around and, and, and you know, making those light hearted comments about it. I, I don't know that there's a, I mean there may be some animosity, but I don't think there's like professional animosity here because they, they, these organizations have to deal with each other. And right now, you know, Jerry's kind of in a little bit better position with his client than, than he's usually been in. So I just think, yeah, we're probably just going to continue to, to see this play out a little bit longer and, and look, depending on what the numbers are, you know, maybe Jerry, Jerry at certain point during the season views it as, as beneficial to go ahead and, and, and figure it, figure it out and, and, and sign a long term deal. But I would, I would bet at this point, unless Pickens is, is willing to kind of come down on, on the numbers that he's at, Jerry's very comfortable with with Pickens playing on on the, the franchise tag.

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah, Jeff, you said. Oh, go ahead, coach.

[Jeff Biggs]

No, no, no, go ahead.

[Aisha Morrison]

Oh, yeah, Jeff said. Jeff. Jeff has been saying that he's, he has had a feeling that it wasn't going to be smooth sailing and pretty through the process. And I will admit that it's starting to feel a little different than what it did before. Not necessarily rock, but is it rocky?

[Landon McCool]

Like, what's, what's. I don't think, other than people talking about it, like, like, I don't think that there's been very rocky.

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah. What I'm saying is that I think that I, for all the reasons that you stated, Landon, is that this is not a Michael Parsons deal. This is not. We know that Pickens market is probably smaller. We understand all of those things. He's in a kind of a redemption spot right now. Right. So I didn't think it was going to be the same, but for those reasons, I just thought that it is. I, I am under the impression it shouldn't be that hard, but I, I don't want to see him miss time. I know people don't care about him missing time and stuff like that, but I think it's needed in such a pivotal year like this. Your offense is trying to take a step. You know, people have a good a year's worth of film on a Brian Schottenheimer who is a new play caller. You know what I'm saying? Like, I, I don't want there to be like a rift, especially if this defense is going to be trying to install a new defense in this offense. So whatever it is, they need to chew it up and eat it and figure out what it is gonna be so we can go forward because I'm not in the mood.

[Landon McCool]

He also, he also, you know, I agree, but I would also say he had a pretty good season last year without a training camp and without, without OTAs with the Cowboys. I, so I, I, I agree. It's, it's, it's, you know, I would prefer that this was done with and dealt with if it's not. Like, I just don't think it's as dire at a situation as people are anticipating it to be. Unless he starts acting out, unless people start, you know, misbehaving, that's a different story. But as of right now, if this is what we're talking about continued through training camp, like just kind of waiting for the other side to pick up the phone sort of situation, I don't know that that's going to be a huge disruption.

[Aisha Morrison]

Okay. What do you think, Coach?

[Jeff Biggs]

I mean, I, I do believe that knowing Jerry the way I know him, he's. He's still got something that I think doesn't sit well with him in dealing with how he felt like he had a deal with Michael Parsons, he felt like he had a handshake deal with him. And I think that knowing Jerry the way I know him, understanding his loyalty the way that I understand his loyalty, I, I really believe that, you know, that was a much different situation, like Landon was saying. But I can tell you that Jerry Ingam, he is, he, he is not going to feel real comfortable in this situation when it's the same agent. I just knowing him the way I know him, do I think business is business? Absolutely. Does he know that? Yes. But at the end of the day, is he going to walk him in his office and want him in his office? Probably not.

[Landon McCool]

Let me ask you, Coach, and this is honestly not leading question. Do you think that. Because this is how I view it a little bit. Do you think that he blames the agent for that or do you think he blames Micah Parsons for being the one who made the handshake deal with him and then went back on his word on the, the handshake deal? Because to me, I think those are two separate things. I think the agent was doing his job properly and, and, and telling Micah not to accept that deal. I think Micah shaking on a deal and then backing out on it, that if I'm Jerry, that would be the more offensive thing. But I'm asking whether. What, what your opinion is.

[Jeff Biggs]

Well, I mean, I'll just. I'm going to ask you a question. When you look at, when you look at, at him from an organizational standpoint, what, what do you think Jerry values most?

[Landon McCool]

Trust and honesty. And I mean, I mean, that's right.

[Jeff Biggs]

And, and what? Family.

[Landon McCool]

Family. Absolutely correct.

[Jeff Biggs]

Right. His, his. He's got his daughters and granddaughters in Ford commercials and I mean, he's got little Shabo walking behind him and, and John, Stephen. And when he goes in, you know, he has those guys coming in when he values that. So I can tell you he valued Micah Parsons as a guy that was a, you know, one, One of his guys. Do I think he looks one way or another way at, At Micah? Probably not. If, if you're asking me the question, I don't know this to be the fact, but I would say that he looks at more of the agent being the problem than Micah being the problem. That, that, that's just how I would answer that. Just because I, I know how he is. I understand the loyalty that he.

[Landon McCool]

No, that's why I asked.

[Jeff Biggs]

That's what I'm saying. I mean, I just go on what I know, which is he is very, you know, dialed into his family and he has always been dialed in to the players, and he, you know, he treats them like they're part of his. You know, when he's paying you the kind of money that he's paying you and you put that star on your helmet and all the things that go with that, I can tell you that he's. He's a very loyal guy. So if you're asking me do I think he looks at Micah differently or do I think he looks the agent differently? I think he looks to agent differently.

[Aisha Morrison]

I think there's a lot of pride involved in that situation.

[Landon McCool]

Oh, yeah.

[Aisha Morrison]

And when it comes to David Malaguetta, he represents quite a few players across the league. He, I mean, as a matter of fact, I know a player coming out in this draft that he represents and the NFL is not a fan of this, this, this agent. And mostly because this agent is successful, he's savvy and how he does things. And he's, he's, he's. He's that bridge. And I think it's natural for these owners to, you know, not want, you know, they know that there needs to be a middleman, but they're not. Every middleman is made the same. And this middleman just so happens to get people pizzaid. And so I do think that we are going to see, you know, this isn't just Jerry did. I have heard multiple times. This is, this is multiple. This is other teams throughout the NFL. He is kind of the new era of agent. And it is, I do think it is a different feel and we'll see how it goes as the end of as. As things progress. Because like I said, he has some top draft picks in this class. He's not going away.

[Landon McCool]

No, he's. He's effective. I think that's, that's why he's. He's not very well liked.

[Jeff Biggs]

Scott Morris is effective too, but doesn't mean that people like him.

[Aisha Morrison]

But here's the thing, though. Like, like Landon was saying is who is he mad at? Because I think it would be. Personally, I think it would look better if Jerry was mad at Micah because it looks weird that you're mad at the agent to any degree for doing his job.

[Landon McCool]

The agent did. The agent, if anything was do. Just did his job correctly. I don't listen I, I think David has done some stuff in the past with his clients and the, the way they have postured against the NFL teams, that has probably sowed a lot of ill will and.

[Aisha Morrison]

Right.

[Landon McCool]

And maybe rightfully so. I think that's, that's arguably, you know, they, he has played real hardball before. And, and we can argue that if we want. But in this specific scenario, in, in specifically what happened between Micah and Jerry, from what we report. And again, we're, we're peeking through keyholes here, but in this specific scenario, that's, and this is why I'm asking, Coach, because I, I, I, I do agree that you're probably right. But if I'm looking at it from my own point of view, if I was in Jerry's shoes, I wouldn't be mad at David Mugletta for this. I, I would view him as doing his job with his client appropriately. But I would be pretty mad at Micah Parsons to come talking to me about dealing and trying to negotiate a deal and then shaking on a deal and then being having his mind changed by the agent. I think that's the issue that I think would make me the most upset.

[Aisha Morrison]

I would.

[Landon McCool]

It's already over, too. That's the thing.

[Aisha Morrison]

Like, you know, it's players talking without.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I mean, that's a choice already.

[Aisha Morrison]

A whole. It's a choice. But as we know. I just feel like there's a lot of different conversations to be had here. So for me, I just, I just, I just feel like this gentleman's not going away. He's gonna be around. It just is what it is, unfortunately. And, and, and with, with this situation with picking circling back to the original conversation is that I, I, I don't think that the leverage is the same in the situation and all those things as well. But these, this guy's not going to go away.

[Landon McCool]

No.

[Aisha Morrison]

He's probably going to have multiple players throughout the years. I'm hoping that these gentlemen are able to have to find a happy medium and be able to do business together and be professional, because this being a problem every time that a player, he represents a player is. Come on.

[Landon McCool]

Especially since that he's not re, he's not going to reset the market with this deal. Like, that's not what, that's not gonna happen.

[Aisha Morrison]

That's maybe his next one if he plays his ass off.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah. And, and, and so maybe, and maybe the truth of the matter is maybe they're more okay than they're letting on that they play on these franchise tags, you know, because because especially for, for Pickens, he has the opportunity. If he gets this money guaranteed and goes out and performs like he did last year, if he performs like he did last year, he is going to get.

[Aisha Morrison]

Get paid. Are you gentlemen. Coach, can you explain to us, Landon, can you explain to us how does the franchise tag affect the salary cap differently than if he had a deal? I know if he had like a set. Like if. I understand if they had a set deal and it was spread out over years, you could probably use that money to do different things and stuff like that. Right. Which would be beneficial to the team. But the franchise tag. Is there any leeway in being able to be flexible with the money? Gentlemen, you know what?

[Landon McCool]

That is a great topic for the next segment. Jeff, why don't you go to break real quick and we'll, we'll talk all about it.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

What a pro. Right there. I love that. Okay. And a reminder too.

[Jeff Biggs]

You.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

I know you watch Marcus and Landon every day, but don't forget to check out the Everydayer Club for ad free episodes and access to a group chat with other listeners of the show. You can see our game our the link in the show notes of the show. Again, the Everydayer Club for the NFL. Check it out when the show is over or check it out on the show notes. You can do that. The Everydayer Club. All right, got to talk to you though about Robin Hood because here's the thing. What if sports were traded like markets, right? Well, now you can put your sports IQ to work in real time with Robinhood Prediction Markets. It's not you against the house, it's you participating in a live market. You can buy or sell your positions live all game long. You can use your sports knowledge in the moments that matter. Robinhood Prediction Markets changes the game. It's people moving the action. So when the momentum shifts, you can move with it. Now, you may have always known the game, but maybe you never really had a dynamic way to apply that knowledge. Well, now you can actually take part live in a market powered by people. You're no longer just a spectator. Play by play, you decide. So trade every play with Robinhood. Now available across the U.S. download the Robinhood app now. To begin,

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[Jeff Biggs]

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[Landon McCool]

Liberty.

[Jeff Biggs]

Liberty. Liberty.

[Landon McCool]

Liberty.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Great to be back with you. Cowboy squad show aisha Morrison, coach Glenn Stretch Smith and Landon McCooley. We're going to talk about the implications of the tag and the salary count.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, and it's a great question too because it's like this one is a little bit different than the other ones too. This is the, a non exclusive franchise tag. So what this actually allows the Pickens and his representatives to do is go to other teams and shop Pickens and, and you know, he, they can sign an offer sheet and if the Cowboys want to match that sheet, they can. If they don't want to and they let Pickens walk, then they can receive two first round picks for Pickens.

[Jeff Biggs]

Pickens.

[Landon McCool]

Now obviously the chances of Pickens getting signed to this deal is, is very unlikely. You know, it's, it's paying Pickens a lot of money and giving up two first round picks. But if anything it shows the value or at least it sets sort of a top end ceiling on the value. Right. Because there are wide receivers out there that if they were available for two first round picks and you had to resign them, you absolutely would, you absolutely would do that deal. So and then it also kind of again, by opening the market a little bit there, you're hoping that another team will do the negotiating work for you. Basically. We don't really know if we haven't seen any reports of any offer offers being put out there or any teams being negotiated. But what's the salary cap implication for right now since he's under this tag? It's a one year fully guaranteed 28, I think it's $28.8 million deal. So it is not a salary cap friendly deal for the 2026 season. If he were to sign a long term deal, you could do whatever you want. You could reduce that money down to a million dollars if you wanted to and guarantee a certain amount of it, push it into future years. That's usually they structure these deals so that they have, they can have ultimate flexibility. But especially in year one, if you were able to sign Pickens to the deal, it would give you a ton of money.

[Aisha Morrison]

So the deal would give you more flexibility.

[Jeff Biggs]

At the end of the day, if he plays on the, if he plays with the franchise tag, that number goes against you this year. Yep, that, that's he count 28 point whatever it is on the cap this year.

[Landon McCool]

That's right.

[Aisha Morrison]

And that's beneficial to them. It would make more sense to do a deal. Right. Because you're saying that you could spread out the money. You could.

[Landon McCool]

Right.

[Jeff Biggs]

But how many receiver. Yeah. But how many receivers can you, can you have above the 30 something million dollar number? I mean, how many, I mean if you get, if you get it where you've got two of those, you could.

[Aisha Morrison]

I don't think he would get that much right though.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Wouldn't he get the bonus though? And then a low.

[Landon McCool]

He wouldn't get that much. It depends on, it depends on how they structure all of it. They, and again, it's all funny money. They can move it around like once it's a con. Once it's. Once they sign a long term deal and they have it, they can, they can move the money around eventually. Obviously they do have to pay that money. But, but, but the truth of the matter is the reason that you can get away with it is because you can continue to roll that money into future caps and the cap has just increased, increasing and it goes up.

[Jeff Biggs]

That's correct. You can kick the can down the road as the number goes up.

[Landon McCool]

And it's not that you don't have to pay it.

[Jeff Biggs]

It's rambling on that.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, well it's, it's not that you don't have to pay it. This is the way you have to think of it is that by kicking it in the future, it's not that that money gets smaller. It's that the percentage of your cap that the dead money is taking up gets smaller because the cap and the

[Jeff Biggs]

cap go is going to go up. They don't know how much the cap's going to go up, but it is going to go up. That's the gamble to it.

[Landon McCool]

That's why, that's, that's why it's a lot. Yeah, that's why it's like a lot. Okay. A lot better to kick it to the future because it's, it just has less impact in the future because the south cap will continue to explode.

[Aisha Morrison]

It's pay.

[Landon McCool]

It's what?

[Aisha Morrison]

It's flex pay.

[Landon McCool]

It's flex pay. Yes, that's right. You can pay. Pay as you go.

[Jeff Biggs]

Sort of.

[Aisha Morrison]

The interest is gonna whoop your arsh. I get it. Okay. I'm picking up what.

[Landon McCool]

Well but see that there's no, there's, that's the thing, there's no interest. And in fact what you can do is roll over cap money that's still available in from one year to the next. So not. You can even further decrease the impact of that dead money by having, let's say you have $10 million still available on your cap. You can actually add that to your next year's cap. And so now suddenly that dead money has even less of an impact if you have to roll it over, if you have to let a player go.

[Aisha Morrison]

So why do players hate playing on attack? Because it sound like playing on attack this year could be he about to change.

[Landon McCool]

It's less guaranteed money than, than like a long term deal. It's. Yes, it's not as much stability long term. It, there is a lot of, I mean it is 27 or 27 or $28 million guaranteed. But, but yeah, you would definitely get more guarantees if you were signing a long term deal track.

[Jeff Biggs]

And you got, I mean you, you also got a, you also got to keep in mind, I mean the injury side of it and all this, you know, all the things that go with that, the wear and tear on your

[Landon McCool]

body or in the value too. He may not be, he, what if he just has a bad year this year? He simply may not be as valuable as he is currently next year.

[Aisha Morrison]

Last year and that was a blessing, you know, that was a blessing that he was healthy. He's, he's. Pickens has been pretty durable through his career though.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I'm just, that's a general note. Like that's, you know, that's why teams don't necessarily, or I'm sorry, why players don't necessarily want to play on the franchise tag.

[Aisha Morrison]

Oh, thank you for explaining it because that was my biggest question also too is the financial part of it. And it's, it's like you said from your explanation and you gentleman's explanation, it would make more sense for them to be really pushing to get a deal done than opposed to even doing the franchise tag. But maybe they just feel like they have so many other things to worry about. They just like I, we got, they've

[Landon McCool]

accounted for the Cowboys, they've accounted for the franchise tag. So you know, they, they ultimately are. It's more, I don't think they care about the salary cap aspect of it because they can move money around. I think it's more about how big of a check am I going to have to sign? Like, you know, how much guaranteed money am I going to have to sign? Because I don't think they want to give Pickens. They're not quite. They're okay with giving Pickens $27 million guaranteed to play for this year, but I don't think they're really willing yet to give him. What is it, coach, 60 million? I don't know.

[Jeff Biggs]

60 neither. And neither, neither is anybody else because a year ago he was available to the NFL and nobody's asking for anything but a third.

[Landon McCool]

And that's what the non exclusive tag is proving more than anything is that if he was worth that much money, somebody would probably take the risk or at least think about taking the risk. And the Cowboys are hoping maybe they do and we can at least start this negotiation. But you know, honestly, I think it's. It. Once we hear what the number is, is that they're asking, I don't think we've heard appropriately what they're. What the pickin side is looking for on the other side. And maybe, maybe the truth is that, that Jerry simply isn't interested in signing a long term deal at this point and that. And that he just wants to pay Pickens for one year and make him do it again and then he'll pay him for a long term deal. I don't know. I think.

[Jeff Biggs]

Let's get off of Pickens. Let me ask you this. What do you think Puka is looking for in a year?

[Landon McCool]

Well, Pooka needs to get out of hospital first.

[Jeff Biggs]

I don't want to, I don't want to get into tmz. I'm saying what do you think he, what do you think he's looking for? What do you think?

[Landon McCool]

Coach, this is not unrelated at this point. Like what he's going through right now is, is having an effect on his value for, for what's going on. So, yeah, I don't, I honestly don't know what, what Puka's situation is.

[Aisha Morrison]

So. What. So I can. So I think, I guess the question would be like, what is what would he be looking for if he was good, right? Is that what you asked?

[Jeff Biggs]

I mean he's, he, he would be the next receiver up. And I get, I mean, I'm all about it. I mean the fact that if he did put his hands or whatever on a woman, I. You can't, you, you. You won't find a more staunch opponent of all that. You don't put your hands on a damn woman. None of that. But at the end of the day, I'm saying he's the next big receiver that would get a deal. And I'm saying what, you know, if, if you're picking Agent Mulaguetta, you know, you're, you're, you're only saying, hey, the number's only going up the longer we wait. I'm. I'm assuming that's what he's telling his client.

[Aisha Morrison]

Can I ask you guys, so if it's not Puka, who would be the Next receiver that will be getting paid that would be looking for a payday. We need to check into that because with Puka stuff going on, if we're going to compare, we probably need to be comparing whoever that next guy is because we don't know what's going on with him right now.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, I, I mean, I, I think Puka, like, look, the Puka deal, I just don't. I understand what you're saying, coach, but I don't think that that Pickens has performed at the level of Puka yet. Like, you know, like Pickens hasn't, hasn't performed at the level of the top end guys yet. Like, he's, he's had one year of that level of, of, of performance and on top of that, the other personality stuff that has surrounded him previous to that, he was off the boards. Like we said, he was available for a third round pick when the Cowboys got him. Actually, everyone laughed at us for sending a third round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for him. So, yeah, I, I think it, it's. I think for most of the league and I think that that's what, you know, that they're, that his agency is probably still figuring out right now that most of the league right now would be still asking for one more prove it year from Pickens before dropping the kind of bag that he is, his talent deserves.

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

All right, quick final, quick, quick timeout. And when we come back, some more, more of what Jerry had to say. And we have a schedule update that I want to share with you guys. We'll do that when we come back. This is the Cowboys squad show.

[Liberty Mutual Announcer]

Liberty Mutual customizes your car and home insurance to save you money. That's it. That's the ad. No bells and whistles? No, guys, I said no bells and whistles.

[Landon McCool]

No

[Liberty Mutual Announcer]

trombones are fine. Visit libertymutual.com and make the switch today.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Told you. That was quick. Welcome back. All right, really quick, I just want to get one final thought about the Pickens jones because you guys have really, really brought some great insight and I think we, we covered that really, really well. I was just thinking about everything that you all have said and started with you, Landon. It is, it is a completely different scenario compared with Micah. And the interesting thing to me is you're, you're Jerry. And with what you said, coach, you got the tag, right? There's no rush. There's no, there's no, no urgency at all. You're Mulaguetta. And you know, on one hand you want Pickens to be in A situation where he can, he can get to that next level and get to that upper echelon. But on the other hand, you don't really have the leverage quite yet. And so I'm, I'm wondering if there might be a scenario because the, the, you know, if, if things are going to move, I think it almost seems like Mula Guetta is going to have to kind of move a little bit and maybe, maybe try to try to make nice a little bit, maybe try to do something to maybe give a little bit less. But maybe he get a couple years and some guarantees and, and maybe make it a win win where could be good for the Cowboys but then good for Pickens where he'll be in a position to get, you know, another big deal or unless, unless he tries to play hardball, unless he just be, you know, goes the other road and then that's when things could get interesting.

[Landon McCool]

I just, I just think he needs, I don't know to me at this point, like, I know that this is not necessarily Mugletta's style, but they just need to be okay with the fact that he's playing on the franchise tag. I think that the Cowboys are okay with it at this point. I think it's what they want. They want one more prove it year out of this, out of this guy. And I think that's not unreasonable to ask. I think the, the reason that there's friction here is because traditionally he, you know, that agency has not liked it when their players have played on franchise tags. And I, I, I understand that, you know, stance. I understand that kind of change in posture and why that's part of the aggressive mind style that, that has worked for that agency. But I, I think in this particular case, he's going to end up getting, he's going to get the, the obviously it's not probably what his market value is, but he's going to get paid a lot of guaranteed money this year. And if he performs the way that he, that we think he will, he's going to get a whole bunch of money next offseason. So this is one of the more rare cases where I just think that the NFL writ large doesn't have a good valuation on this player. He's, you know, you talked about the Puka situation. He just doesn't fall in line with those JSN Puka guys. He's, he's just, he just isn't that guy who's the next guy to have the top of the market deal. I think the agency will say that, but I think that the more that they probably go around and talk to teams or about the valuation because that's what the non exclusive deal allows them to do, the more they're going to find out that he's not going to get a bunch of $42 million offers, $40 million offers, that it's probably more like a 35 to 38, you know, 34 to 37 sort of deal. And you know, if that's the case, you can look at that and look at the franchise, the non exclusive franchise tag and just say, you know what? I, we're betting on our guy, let's see him do it and I guarantee you we'll have a bag for him waiting in the next off season.

[Aisha Morrison]

I don't think that Pickens is in a bad position playing on the franchise tag. I don't think that is a, a bad spot for him to be in. Obviously, you know, Landon mentioned the money, the opportunity coming back to an offense that you're familiar with, all of that stuff. I don't think it's anything wrong with where he is. And like you guys said, like given the fact that this is kind of a prove it year for him and stuff, he is in a, he's in a really good position. I know the, Dallas has like the, the leverage, but he also is in a position to go do what he wants to do. And I'm assuming why he came to Dallas in the first place to kind of flip the table and to show what he's capable of. So that's all I'm hoping for, is that the guy comes out, performs, plays well, stays healthy and then we can have the conversation after that. Gentlemen, has he signed his franchise tag yet?

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

No, no, no.

[Aisha Morrison]

Tater Tots.

[Landon McCool]

Well, but I mean he doesn't have like that doesn't mean anything.

[Aisha Morrison]

It doesn't necessarily

[Jeff Biggs]

mid July to sign it. Correct?

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah, he has time too. So yeah, I mean I want the, the player here. We've heard, even the defensive coaches that have come in that are now, your defensive staff have talked about his impact on the field and how hard it was to, you know, game plan for them. So I, I, I don't want Dallas to go backwards. I don't, I don't. I think that this, this, this wide receiver core has been needing a true, I know we say that there's two number ones, but you've been needing a number two option that could get it done for a while. You have that. I think that you need to keep steering forward in the best way you can.

[Landon McCool]

Just real quick. I. I do think that part of the. That of him not signing the. The. The franchise tag, I mean, that is one of the only acts of, you know, rebellion or that's one of the only levers that they have available to them, really. You know, so I. I think it's just symbolic, largely. There's. I mean, he's gonna sign it. Like, he's. The. The alternative is not an option for them. So I. I just think it's. It's one of those things where, like, literally this is all. You know, all they could do is stomp his feet and pout and. And he's gonna do it. So just be okay with that. I don't mean that, you know, literally, but maybe that literally happens as well. Who knows how this plays out?

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

He's got such a good.

[Aisha Morrison]

Not you over there laughing. That's the first time I seen this laugh, though. What you giggling about?

[Jeff Biggs]

Well, I might stomp my feet and get the red ass. What good does that do? All it does get your feet sore.

[Aisha Morrison]

What you eat. What you eat today, Coach? What you eating for dinner today?

[Jeff Biggs]

I'm on this. I'm trying to focus on this Mediterranean, and it is rough. So what I. What I've been eating is those, you know, walnuts, cashews for a snack, blueberries. It is. It. It is rough. I'm not. I'm not a happy camper when it comes to my diet. So between you asking me about my diet and Marcus telling me that the food in Dallas is not very good, and then I asked him, wait, what did he say? I'm like, how many times have you ever been here? He goes, zero.

[Landon McCool]

Well, how the hell would you know? Oh, man, I know what we're talking about on the podcast tonight.

[Aisha Morrison]

I'm sorry for being. I'm sorry for being nosy. I thought she was gonna say, you, who is up on a grill. You gonna have a steak? I thought you gonna say some.

[Landon McCool]

You asked the right question.

[Jeff Biggs]

I'm all about every bit of that, but right now. Right now, I bet on these damn blueberry smoothies, and it's not. It's not very appealing. I'd love to tell you it was going to be, you know, Javiers, or it was going to be, you know, some sort of great Mexican food or some sort of. Yeah, sorry to take the wind out of your sail.

[Aisha Morrison]

It ain't coach, so. It's okay. I. I just. I just finished the smoothie, too. I was being nosy. Go ahead. Yeah, my bad.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

No, we're good. We're.

[Landon McCool]

We got.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

We're. Final seconds, final few minutes here. So just a couple things. I'll just go rapid fire and you can share your final thoughts. Jerry said that with Max Crosby that basically they would have done the same thing that the Ravens did if Crosby had failed a physical with them. He also basically said that it's not looking good for resigning. Judavon clowning that you just can't do everything that you want to do. Brian. Brian Schottheimer said that he and OSA wept together when they had the call that he was being traded. And according to reports, the Cowboys are going to play the Ravens in Brazil in week three. Those of you keeping score at home,

[Landon McCool]

week three, that's wild. I don't know.

[Aisha Morrison]

That's an early game.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Yeah.

[Jeff Biggs]

Get it over. It's a long damn flight, too.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah. I kind of wish it was week one, though, right? Like.

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah.

[Landon McCool]

I don't know.

[Jeff Biggs]

Get it out of the way.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, well, that and also, just, like, you're not dealing with the previous. You're not dealing with a game the previous week.

[Jeff Biggs]

Does that mean, though? Does that mean they get the next week off when you play that?

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

That would be really.

[Aisha Morrison]

I'm about to say, are they gonna have, like, a mini buy or something like that?

[Landon McCool]

Because, like, usually that kind of accommodates them somehow, right? Yeah, like, they'll play a Thursday. They'll play of a buy, or like, they'll have like a Thursday night, the night the week before, so they have extra days or something, you know, so we'll see when the schedule comes out. But I don't love that it's a week three game, necessarily.

[Aisha Morrison]

Well, and to your point, Jeff, I mean, yeah, it's. I mean, OSA is kind of was homegrown talent. He's been here, he developed here. He's. He's been a constant through multiple coaching regimes and stuff like that. He means something to, you know, a lot of the guys in the locker room, too. So I know. I'm a little bummed not to be able to, you know, talk to him and have him teach me about stuff anymore. But the game, you know, shoddy's, you know, he emotional dude. He motion. He got a lot of motion.

[Landon McCool]

Like his dad. Like his dad, honestly.

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah, he got a lot of emotions.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

Yeah. And any surprise that they would say he would say that about Max, that they would have canceled the deal also. You think that would happen?

[Aisha Morrison]

Coach, didn't you say that. That Dallas's doctor is the one that did the physical.

[Jeff Biggs]

I think that's who did do it. So. Yeah, I mean that doesn't.

[Landon McCool]

Well, beyond the fact that's a little

[Jeff Biggs]

flare for the obvious, right?

[Landon McCool]

Beyond. Beyond the fact that like that's not necessarily the idea that failing a physical wouldn't cancel a trade is, is, is weird. You know, it's like that's why you have the physical. Right?

[Jeff Biggs]

Right. Right.

[Landon McCool]

I don't know

[Aisha Morrison]

why. For it is a little back ass where it's. I feel like I, I, when I made that word up, I thought about you, coach. It is a little bad. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. To, to have the physical, like at that point in the process, you would think the physical will be the first thing. It's not the first thing. It's. It's actually like towards the end, ain't it?

[Landon McCool]

Yeah. I mean that's what that's like. I think you have to think about the order of events there, right? Like you can agree to a deal, but before you kind of dot on the sign on the dotted line, you got to do all the final details, right? Like it's like, it's like when you close on a house, right. You have an inspection. It's like kind of one of the last steps that you do before you sign everything, right. You, you agree to the deal first. Okay. Now we're, we're at a level of agreement that we need to kind of take final steps before, you know, signing everything and shaking hands.

[Jeff Biggs]

So.

[Landon McCool]

Yeah, you don't want a player going out to different teams, like having to travel all across the country to do physicals for a bunch of different teams before you even negotiate a deal, you know?

[Aisha Morrison]

Yeah. And then, then they have your medicals now and all that stuff. Yeah, yeah, you're right. You're right.

[Landon McCool]

Right Though I mean, clearly the medical privacy aspect of this is non existent. The fact that, that you know, the Cowboys, the Cowboys doctor could be there to examine it, even though he, I understand he's hired as a private consultant. You know, it's, it's, it's still crazy to me because I mean, are we do believe that he didn't just turn around and tell Jerry. Nah, don't, don't do this. You know, like, I mean, like I'm assuming that's what happened, right? Like so probably, probably. It's ridiculous.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

All right, real quick before we go, Aisha, what do you got coming up?

[Aisha Morrison]

We had an episode of the Stack Drop today. Got a little, got a little up there if you want to check it out or clone clo Crown global media. My God. And then we'll have another show dropping Saturday probably about 10am Just talking some draft stuff with you guys. So yeah, that's, that'll be about it for me to finish the week.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

All right, looking forward to that. Landon, what about you and Marcus coming up?

[Landon McCool]

Well, I'm gonna go yell at Marcus about what he said about Dallas. Dallas food first. He said that and then we have a bunch of stuff coming up that we're going to be talking about the rest of the week. Obviously draft related. We're going to continue to kind of go through scenarios and talk about different players that that are going to be in the range of where the Cowboys are picking. So it's all draft until, until the draft. So we have three weeks like you said. So it's a sprint.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

All right. Look forward to that. Be sure and check out Marcus and Landon on the daily Locked on Cowboys podcast. Coach, thank you. We'll do it again next week. Happy Easter. Thank you to everybody for listening and watching and thank you guys. Thank you crew. Always a blessing to me to get to listen and work with you and interact with you and thank you for all the knowledge and all the great insight. Appreciate it. All right, that's going to do it.

[Landon McCool]

Thank you.

[Glenn Stretch Smith]

This has been another edition of the Cowboys squad. Show.

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